JORDAN Allan's winner for Airdrieonians two minutes from time delayed Cove Rangers promotion to the Championship for another week but Paul Hartley remains convinced they will complete the job this Saturday.
The Aberdeen based side's manager is certainly entitled to approach the visit of Dumbarton with confidence as this win made it 24 League One games without defeat.
A second half double from Fraser Fyvie and Harry Milne's late strike leaves them five points clear of the tenacious Diamonds in addition to being 13 better off in terms of goal difference.
Not that the former Hearts and Celtic star is taking anything for granted despite being so tantalisingly close to being able to open the celebration champagne yesterday.
Hartley said:"It's 34 games down and if you had said at the start of the season we would have the chance to win the league at home next week we would have taken it.
"We have been in great form since the East Fife defeat back in October but you have to give Airdrie credit for keeping going the way they have.
"We can only control what we are doing and the players have done that really well, so they need to do that against Dumbarton next week now.
"We are also 17 games unbeaten at home in the league, which is an unbelievable record for this group, and we don't want to spoil that next week.
"We can't think that we can relax so we have to keep driving forward and being as professional as we can be."
That was especially evident in the ruthless way they went about their business after a evenly matched first half against an Alloa side showing real improvement under Brian Rice.
The visitors twice had efforts cleared off the line at the start of the second period but Cove Rangers never looked back after Fyvie glanced in Milne's cross from close range in 57 minutes.
The former Hibernian and Dundee United player ended all doubt about the result seven minutes from the end with a well taken second to round off a man of the match display
Alloa manager Rice simply and accurately described the midfielder afterwards as "a Premier League player in a League One side" as he took his tally to 13 goals for the season.
That on a day when team mate, and the division's top scorer, Rory McAllister was sidelined through injury but the prolific nature of the side was further emphasised in the last minute.
Milne, the left wing back, scored his sixth of the season one week on from getting both in the 2-0 win at Falkirk while at the other end it was a 16th clean sheet of the campaign for the Cove Rangers defence.
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